" But then around 1980, under the camouflage of high inflation, private colleges started increasing their prices every year a bit faster than inflation. Public colleges soon followed suit, state legislatures started cutting university funding, and that vicious cycle picked up speed. In the 1990s the price of a college education ballooned even faster—especially at public institutions—and never stopped. "

― Kurt Andersen , Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America